The Importance of Cutting-Edge Employee Training Techniques
In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, employee training is a critical component for the success and growth of any organisation. Companies must keep pace with new technologies, shifting customer demands, and emerging industry trends. Employee training programmes are indispensable in creating a skilled and efficient workforce. This blog delves into various online employee training methods and techniques that can dramatically reduce training expenses, enhance employee engagement, and result in a more productive workforce.
The Winning Advantages of Online Training Techniques
Huge Cost Savings
One of the most significant benefits of embracing digital training is the massive cost savings that can be realised. Traditional face-to-face training often entails substantial expenses, including venue hire, materials, refreshments, equipment, and facilitator fees. Furthermore, there are hidden costs associated with traditional training methods, such as staff absence, travel, and accommodation. Online training helps to eradicate these costs, resulting in a more cost-effective approach to employee learning and development programs.
Unparalleled Flexibility and Convenience
Online training provides employees with unparalleled flexibility in how and when they complete their training. Courses can be accessed at any time and from any place, enabling employees to learn at their own pace and work around their existing commitments. This flexibility can lead to increased engagement and motivation in training programmes, as more employees learn they can fit their training around their personal and professional lives.
Impressive Scalability
Another advantage of online training is its scalability. Online programmes can be delivered to vast numbers of employees at any one time, allowing companies to train more staff with fewer resources. This scalability can be particularly useful for organisations with a workforce scattered across the country (or the world!), as it enables consistent training to be delivered to employees no matter where they're located.
Advanced Tracking and Assessment
Online employee training platforms often include sophisticated tracking and assessment tools, enabling organisations to monitor employee participation and progress and evaluate the effectiveness of the training programme. These insights can be used to ensure compliance, identify areas for improvement and inform future training initiatives, ensuring that employee training remains relevant and impactful for all employees.
Powerful Online Employee Training Programs
Staff eLearning and development programmes
eLearning is one of the most powerful and effective employee training tools, offering numerous benefits to both employees and organisations over traditional hands-on training-on training alone. eLearning courses can be accessed at the employees' convenience, allowing them to learn at their own pace and apply their learning immediately. An eLearning framework also provides organisations with the opportunity to track employee progress and assess the effectiveness of the training programme.
Instructor-Led Training
Instructor-led training (ILT) is a traditional training technique that involves a training session with an instructor teaching a group of employees, either in person or via video conference. This method of workplace training can be highly effective for reinforcing complex topics as part of a blended learning programme, as it allows for real-time interaction and clarification. With the advancement of technology, there are now various platforms that enable instructors to deliver ILT sessions remotely, reducing the need for travel and accommodation expenses.
Simulation Training Methods
Simulation training is an interactive training technique that allows employees to practice real-life scenarios in a controlled environment. This training method can be highly effective in teaching practical skills, problem-solving, and critical thinking. Simulations can be conducted online using virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) technologies, providing a highly immersive and engaging online learning experience.
Video Training
Video is another popular and effective employee training technique. This approach involves the use of pre-recorded video content or live streaming to deliver training sessions. Video training enables employees to access the training material at their convenience and revisit the content if needed. However, with the advances in interactive training, the use of video training as a standalone tool is losing popularity, due to the participant's ability to 'press play and walk away'. Embedding authentic video content within a training module is a far better option, as it can ensure participant engagement remains high. In this way, video training can be especially effective for teaching technical skills, as employees can pause and re-watch sections of the training videos, to ensure full understanding.
Interactive Training Method
Interactive training techniques involve the use of games, quizzes, and other interactive elements to engage employees and enhance the learning process. This approach helps employees effectively learn and retain information by actively participating in the teaching process, rather than passively listening to a lecture-style presentation. Interactive training methods can be easily incorporated into digital training platforms and can significantly improve knowledge retention and employee engagement.
Work-integrated learning (WIL)
Work-integrated learning (WIL) is a powerful new employee training technique that enables employees to learn new skills and immediately apply that new knowledge in their workplace. This approach to workplace training allows employees to gain hands-on experience and apply new knowledge in real time. WIL can be combined with other training techniques, such as video training and eLearning, to provide a comprehensive workplace training programme that addresses various learning styles.
Job Shadowing and Mentoring
Job shadowing and mentoring are valuable training techniques that involve employees learning from experienced colleagues or supervisors. These types of training techniques can be particularly effective in teaching leadership skills, problem-solving, and customer interaction. Online platforms can be used to facilitate communication between mentors and mentees and provide additional resources to support the learning process.
Employee Onboarding and Career Development
Online training techniques can also be used to streamline and improve employee onboarding and career development processes. By incorporating training into these processes, organisations can ensure that new hires begin working immediately and are equipped with the necessary skills to excel in their job roles. Digital training platforms can also be used to manage and track all types of employee training and career development, ensuring that employees receive the right training and support to progress within the organisation.
Implementing Online Training Techniques in Your Organisation
Assessing Your Organisation's Training Goals
Before implementing any online courses or training techniques, it's crucial to conduct a thorough assessment of your organisation's training needs. A Training Needs Analysis involves identifying the skills and knowledge gaps among your workforce, as well as determining the most effective training techniques to address these gaps. By aligning your online training initiatives with your organisation's specific needs, you can ensure that your investment in employee training delivers maximum impact and return on investment.
Selecting the Ideal Online Training Platform
There is a vast array of Learning Management Systems (LMS) available, each offering different features and capabilities. When selecting an LMS platform, it's essential to consider factors such as ease of use, scalability, and the availability of tracking and assessment tools. Additionally, ensure that the platform is compatible with your organisation's existing systems and processes, to facilitate seamless integration and adoption.
Developing Engaging and Effective eLearning Content
The success of your initiatives will largely depend on the quality and relevance of the training content. When developing digital training materials, focus on creating content that is engaging, interactive, and aligned with your organisation's specific training goals. This may involve leveraging a range of content formats, such as video, audio, and interactive elements, to make training programs that cater to different learning styles and preferences.
Measuring the Success of Your Training Initiatives
To ensure that your online training initiatives are delivering the desired results, it's essential to regularly measure their effectiveness. This can be achieved through the use of tracking and assessment tools provided by your LMS platform, as well as through the collection of feedback from employees and managers. By continuously monitoring and evaluating the success of your training initiatives, you can make data-driven decisions to improve and refine your employee training and development programmes.
The Future of Employee Training
The use of online training techniques can revolutionise employee training programmes, leading to a more skilled, engaged, and productive workforce at a fraction of the cost of traditional workforce development training. By using a blended eLearning approach, including a combination of eLearning and instructor-led training, simulation training, video training, interactive training, on-the-job training, job shadowing, and mentoring, organisations can provide employees with a comprehensive and engaging training experience. By investing in digital training techniques, organisations can significantly reduce training costs, improve staff engagement and employee retention, and ultimately achieve greater success in today's competitive business landscape. And who doesn't want that??!